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Childhood Threats to Adult Cognition in Sub-Saharan Africa: Malaria, Anemia, Stunting, Enteric Enteropathy, and the Microbiome of Malnutrition

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Brain Degeneration and Dementia in Sub-Saharan Africa

Abstract

Many common childhood conditions are associated with cognitive deficits. While some causes of impaired cognition, such as lead exposure, are well understood, other common conditions in countries such as Uganda – malnutrition, anemia and malaria – are not sufficiently recognized. In this chapter we discuss stunting and its root causes of undernutrition, a lack of sanitation and its relationship to environmental enteropathy and the intestinal microbiome. We also review information about iron-deficiency anemia and malaria, and their neurological and cognitive consequences. We believe that cognitive declines later in life, during adulthood, may be prevented or delayed by addressing these childhood threats to cognition.

Funding

Funding was provided by the US Agency for International Development (USAID) Feed the Future Innovation Laboratory: Collaborative Research in Nutrition for Africa (award number AID-OAA-L-10-00006 to Tufts University). The content of this paper is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of USAID.

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Abbreviations

ALA:

Alpha linoleic acid

ApoE:

Apolipoprotein E

DHA:

Docosahexaenoic acid

DHS:

Demographic and Health Survey

EE:

Environmental enteropathy

EPA:

Eicosapentaenoic acid

GABA:

gamma-aminobutyric acid

IDA:

Iron deficiency anemia

Pb:

Lead

PRBCs:

Parasitized red blood cells

TCA:

Tricarboxylic acid

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Public Health and Community Medicine, Tufts University School of Medicine, Tufts Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, Boston, MA, 02111, USA

    Jeffrey K. Griffiths AB, MD, MPH&TM

  2. School of Food Technology, Nutrition, and Bioengineering, Makerere University, Makerere University Campus, Kampala, 7062, Uganda

    Joyce K. Kikafunda BSc Agriculture, MSc Food Science & Technology, PhD Human Nutrition

Authors
  1. Jeffrey K. Griffiths AB, MD, MPH&TM
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  2. Joyce K. Kikafunda BSc Agriculture, MSc Food Science & Technology, PhD Human Nutrition
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jeffrey K. Griffiths AB, MD, MPH&TM .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry, Makerere University Medical School, Kampala, Uganda

    Seggane Musisi

  2. Dept. Anatomy & Cellular Biology, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

    Stanley Jacobson

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Griffiths, J.K., Kikafunda, J.K. (2015). Childhood Threats to Adult Cognition in Sub-Saharan Africa: Malaria, Anemia, Stunting, Enteric Enteropathy, and the Microbiome of Malnutrition. In: Musisi, S., Jacobson, S. (eds) Brain Degeneration and Dementia in Sub-Saharan Africa. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-2456-1_7

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